Boot or shoe



(No Model.) v

. J. W. FRENCH.

I BOOT 0R SHOE.

39 ,26 Patented Nov. 6, 1888.

N. Psvsn. mww-um w, Washington, In.

UNITE STATES tries.

PATENT BOOT OR SHOE.

$PEClFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 392,264, dated November6, 1888.

Application filed May 22, 1888. Serial No. 274,034. (No midel.)

. .To all whom it may concern:

' on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention-has for its object an improved construction of shoe,whereby the same may be cheaply lasted without the employment of tacksin the ball of the inner sole. In accordance with my invention alastingsole narrower than the bottom of the last at i theball thereof isemployed instead and to take the place of the usual inner sole, the saidlasting-sole having its edges immediately along the ball of the foot andbetween the toe portion, and the shank reduced in width and providedwith a lip which points toward the center line of the sole, the saidsole thus presenting along the ball abutting edges which fall within thesidelines ofthe bottom of the last, and against which the upper is drawnby stitches, the narrow portion of the lasting-sole having a groove,lip, or channel inside its abutting edges. When connecting the upper tothe lasting-sole, the needle of any usual turn-shoe or welt-shoesewingmachine will be made to enter the channel or under the lip of thelasting-sole, the point of the needle emerging from the abutting edgesand entering the upper, so that when the needle is drawn back to finishthe stitch the thread will draw the upper over the bottom of the lastdirectly against the said abutting edge, thus connecting the upper withthe lasting-sole at the abutting edge rather than with the outer side ofthe said sole. In this way the upper is drawn and strained over thebottom of the last, and thereafter (the last having been with drawn andthe outer sole applied to the lasted shoe in usual manner) that portionof the upper lying between the abutting edge of the lastingsole and theedge of the last serves to receive the fastenings employed to unite theupper and outer sole, the said fastenings not entering the lasting-solewhere it is reduced in width or between the portion thereof where theupperwas stitched to it, as described.

My invention therefore consists, essentially,

channel or groove.

in a bootor shoe consisting of an upper and lasting-sole cut and reducedin width along the ball portion thereof between the toe and shankportions, and having alip and an abutting edgelocated within the line ofthe bottom of the last in the direction of its width, the said upperbeing drawn against and stitched to the said abutting edges along onlythe ball of the shoe, and an outer sole united to the upper by a line offastenings which pass through and through the outer sole, the upper, andthe inner sole about the toe of the shoe and along the shank thereof,the said fastenings employed to secure the outer sole in place passingthrough the upper and not through the lasting-sole along the ball of theshoe, substantially as described.

Figurel in side elevation represents a shoe embodying my invention; Fig.2, a section in the dotted line m,- Fig. 3, an under side view of theshoe, the upper along one side of the shoe being shown as lasted andtrim med,while at the opposite side of the shoe the upper is in positionto be stitched to the lasting-sole, a part of the upper being broken outto show the edge of the lasting-sole lying inside the edge of the last;Fig. 3, a section in the line as. Fig. 4 shows the lasting-sole byitself; Fig. 5, a section in the line 0c,with a piece of the upper inplace, the figure showing the needle in place and part of the last.

The upper a is and may be of and material.

The lasting-sole b will preferably be a piece of leather reduced inwidth at and along the ball of the sole between the toe portion andshank portion, the lastingsole herein shown having an inturned lip, 0,under which is a The lip b is herein represented as formed upon thelasting-sole by slitting the latter from its opposite edge crosswise andtransversely at four points, two at each side of the lastingsole,between the toe portion 1) and shank portion b", the portion of the solebetween the parts where it is cut being bent over upon the face of thesaid sole, thus usual shape leaving an inturned lip.

The point of the needle employed to unite the upper to the lasting-soleemerges from the upper and enters the lasting-sole at the abutting edgeI) thereof-the edge left by reducing the width of the sole along theball portion the point of the needle coming out through the said soleunder the lip or flap b, so that when the needle is drawn back to itsstarting-point to finish the stitch the thread entering the upper andsole will act to draw the upper close to the said edge b, or about theupper against the said edge at a point within the edge of the last, theupper being drawn and strained over the last. As the upper is drawn upand secured to the edges 7), rather than drawn over and secured to thetop of the sole, as has hcre tofore been done in welted work, I shalldonominate the edge If as the abutting edge.

In practice, the lasting-sole having been applied to the bottom 01' thelast, the upper is drawn,by pinchers or otherwise,up to and over theedge of the last at the toe and through the shank and heel, when it maybe temporarily secured or caught in usual manner by tacks or nails 2,and then the upper is stitched to the abutting edge of the lasting-soleby a line of stitches. (Shown at 3, Figs. 2 and 3'2) For the work I mayemploy any sewing-machine commonly used to stitch the upper to the innersole in welted work, or to stitch the upper to the outer sole for turnedwork, the stitch being either a chain or two-threaded stitch, as may bedesired.

In Fig. 3 the upper side or half of the shoe is shown as stitched andthe lip and edge of the upper trimmed off from the center of the toe tothe shank; but along the other side of the shoe the upper is shown asyet held by the tacks 2 in the last in position to be stitched.

The upper having been stitched to the abutting edge of the lasting sole,the nails 2 are withdrawn, the edge of the upper and the edge of the lipb projecting beyond the line of stitching are cut oil" nearly down tothe said stitching, an outer sole, 0, is applied to the shoe, the lastis withdrawn, and the shoe is applied to the horn of a machine of usualconstruction for uniting the sole and upper, and a line of l'astenings,t, preferably stitches, is put into the outer sole and upper outside thejunction of the upper with the lasting sole, as shown in Fig. 2; but thesaid stitches 4 pass through and through the lasting-sole in thedirection of its thickness both around the toe and through the shank, asin usual so-called McKay work. In this way nails or tacks are not leftin the ball of the shoe, nor is the chain of stitches uniting the upperand lasting sole exposed at the inner side of the shoe. The cap will benailed to the toe portion of the lasting-sole in usual manner.

A sock-sole will be applied in usual manner to the completed shoe,andthe heel part of the shoe and upper may be put together in any usualmanner.

1 do not broadly claim an inner sole having its edge cut away about theball of the shoe,so that the stitching uniting the inner sole and upperwill run off the inner sole to thus make a flexible sole; but I am notaware that a sole of the shape referred to has ever been pro vided witha lip, as b, to which the upper has been united for the purpose oflasting the shoe, as herein described.

I claim The herein-described shoe, it consisting of an upper and lastingsole cut and reduced in width along the ball portion thereof between thetoe and shank portion,and having a lip,b, and an abutting edge, I)",located within the edge of the line of the last in the direction of itswidth, the said upper being drawn against and stitched to the saidabutting edges 0' along only the ball of the shoe, and an outer soleunited to the upper by a line of fastenings which pass through andthrough the outer sole, the upper and inner sole about the toe of theshoe and along the shank thereof, the said fastenings employed to securethe outer sole in place passing through the upper and not through thelasting solc along the ball of the shoe, all substantially as described.

In testimony whereofI have signed my name tothisspecilication in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

Witnesses:

G. \V. (jlunoom', J. (l. Sums.

